Creamy Lemon Chicken

A delicious and easy dinner for the entire family. This creamy lemon chicken is a favorite comfort meal everyone will love! This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

No one likes any back story to recipes anymore, but I would be remiss if I did not mention this recipe was inspired by a comfort food a good friend shared with me, and that I now have passed onto my own family. It is wonderfully creamy, and thanks to a few tweaks, is totally packed with flavor in every bite. It is comfort food personified. 

Key ingredients

What I love most about this recipe is that it doesn't really take a lot to make it. You also don't need any fancy ingredients. In fact, you probably already have everything you need. 

• Chicken - This is a chicken dish after all! I love making this recipe with chicken breasts, but you can also use thighs and drumsticks, so long as you are cooking it through, the recipe works with it all. You can also substitute the chicken with pork chops if you do not have any chicken available. 
• Herbs and spices - I use my favorite medley of herbs and spices for the marinade and the sauce. You can certainly try other spices, but I cannot guarantee substitutions will be as good. 

• Better than Boullion - I love the seasoned vegetable version, but you can try others you have around. This is my secret ingredient to dialing up the flavor in this dish, and use it in a few different ways throughout the recipe.
• Whole milk and/or cream - This dish is meant to be comfort food! It works the best with whole milk and a splash of cream if you have it available. It gives the sauce its wonderful creaminess.
• Lemon - The featured flavor in the dish. Lemons add a lovely brightness to everything it touches. 
• Mashed potatoes - We love eating our creamy lemon chicken with mashed potatoes, and it is so important to the dish for us. You can, of course, replace the mashed potatoes if you don't have any potatoes around. 

How to make creamy lemon chicken

• Start by marinating your chicken. It is such an easy step and makes a huge difference in the flavor! I use a mix of herbs, spices, lemon, and Better than Boullion for an extra punch of flavor. You can marinate the chicken for anywhere between 15 minutes to overnight (in the fridge, of course!). The longer, the better, of course, but I usually marinate it for about 30 minutes while I get the ingredients ready for everything else. 
• Use the same pan you fried the chicken in to make the creamy lemon sauce. That added flavor creates more dimension to your dish. 

• Squeeze in as much lemon as you prefer. I usually like about 1 ½ large lemons in mine, but you may like less, or even more. 
• Be careful seasoning your sauce! The best time to salt your sauce is near the end, after the sauce has a chance to incorporate the flavors from the fried chicken, the Better than Boullion, and the lemon. I find if you try and start salting too early, you can accidentally end up over salting and no one likes a salty sauce. 
• Add some parmesan if you want! Always go for the real stuff, and always add a little at a time. Not everyone in my family likes it with parmesan, so I usually let everyone add theirs onto their own plate. 

How to make creamy mashed potatoes

• Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. They are hands down the best potatoes for mashing. They have a wonderful texture and are already almost buttery in flavor. If you don't have any, Russets will also work. 
• Dice your potatoes in large pieces. Smaller pieces will cook through faster, but they will also absorb water more and faster, which will leave you with watery and less flavorful mashed potatoes. 

• Don't use cold ingredients. I know its easy to just grab the milk of cream and the butter from the fridge and add it in, but keeping the potatoes hot will keep them creamy, yet fluffy. I recommend heating up your milk and using melted butter. I add a touch of Better than Boullion in my mashed potatoes and stir it into the milk when I add it. 
• Don't dump your milk or cream in. Instead, drizzle it in a little at a time, incorporating it before you add more until you get your desired consistency. 

Serving suggestions

Creamy lemon chicken with mashed potatoes are so good on their own, but I need more to my meal, personally. I suggest serving it with roasted vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and/or carrots. If you don't want mashed potatoes, the chicken also goes well with rice (which I also infuse with just a touch of Better than Boullion), or pasta!

Creamy Lemon Chicken

Amanda Powell

Comforting and easy creamy lemon chicken using only pantry staples

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Additional Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories 812 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Chicken

• 2 large chicken breasts
• ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
• 1 tablespoon vegetable Better than Boullion
• ½ lemon juiced
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for frying

For the Sauce

• 1 small onion finely diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vegetable Better than Boullion
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ cups milk or more as needed*
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 lemon juiced (or more as needed)*
• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste

For the Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1 teaspoon Better than Boullion**
• 1 cup milk or cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste

Instructions

 

• Begin by cutting your chicken in half horizontally so you have four pieces and boiling a large pot of water.
• Mix together the herbs, spices, Better than Boullion, and lemon juice together for the marinade. Coat the chicken in the marinade and leave to the side to marinate while you prep the remaining ingredients, or cover and leave in the refrigerator if prepping ahead of time.
• Add the potatoes to the boiling water.
• Lightly coat the chicken in the flour and fry with the oil in a large frying pan set to medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through. This should take about 4 - 5 minutes per side.
• Remove the chicken and set aside. Leave the heat on the pan.
• Add the onions, butter, oil, and Better than Boullion to the frying pan. Cook until the onions are fragrant and translucent.
• Add the flour and cook until the flour is a light golden brown.
• Slowly stir in the milk and cream and cook until it thickens. Add in the Italian seasoning and lemon juice (to taste).
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the chicken.
• Drain the potatoes once they are fork-tender, but still firm.
• Mash the potatoes, and add in the butter.
• Heat the Better than Boullion and the milk together until the milk is steaming.
• Drizzle into the mashed potatoes until they are nice and creamy.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve the chicken and mashed potatoes together, using the sauce for both. Finish with lemon slices and fresh parsley, if desired.

Notes

*Add as much as you prefer. I used conservative measurements here, but I usually add more.

**I prefer using the roasted garlic Better than Boullion, but any flavor works!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 812kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 34gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 1053mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5g

Keyword chicken, comfort food, dinner, easy, lemon

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